Bookbinding systems can deliver bound documents, including books, manuals, publications, annual reports, newsletters, business plans and brochures. A bookbinding system collects a plurality of sheets (or pages) into a text body (or book block) and applies an adhesive to bind the text body to the cover to form a bound documents.
The choice of adhesive surface can affect how the bound document opens. For example, the cover may be attached to the bound text body by an adhesive on the side hinge areas or the spine of the text body, or both. The cover of a commercial soft cover book can be attached to the text spine. The covers of hardcover books and some soft cover “lay flat” books, on the other hand, are not attached to the text body spines (for example, the spines are floating). Also, where the adhesive is too generously applied such that adhesive is placed on the plane surface of the sheet (for example, the surface with text), adjacent sheets can adhere to one another causing the bound body to be rigid and difficult to open.
Text bodies can be assembled and covers can be attached by an adhesive applied to the spine area of the text body. Application of the adhesive and/or cover by a hinged system in the spine area can generate a localized buckle, accumulation or wrinkle as a force is applied over the adhesive. The localized buckle, accumulation or wrinkle can be unsightly as well as produce an inconsistent adhesive bond at the spine.
The number of pages in the text body to be bound can also affect the choice of adhesive surface and the method of application of the adhesive. For example, text bodies with low page counts (such as bodies with less than 20 to 50 sheets), have been assembled into booklets by various methods, including saddle-stitch methods such as stapling along the spine. Binding techniques for square spine documents have generally been applied to text bodies with higher page counts.